There are as many theories about strength and bodybuilding trainers as there are strength coaches. However, an exhaustive survey of ALL programs associated with rapid body composition changes shows that there are some common principles that tend towards encouraging gains.

Principles

In the very broadest sense, this is what we're looking at:

1. Neural conditioning - specifically, recruitment of the maximum number of motor units. This includes form drilling, maximum tension repetitions, post-tetanic activation potential, and exercise frequency.

2. Fiber/tissue Damage and Remodeling - In order to signal mechanical stretching and inflammation cascades, you do have to damage the fibers. However, as different loading styles produce different mechanical conditions inside the muscle, a variety of techniques should be employed. This is the foundation of the bro-science of "muscle confusion". In particular, intensity techniques and exercise choices emphasizing maximum force production while in a stretched position are important. Heavily loaded stretches also fit under this category, although there will be more on that later.

3. Muscular hypoxia and the biochemical response to training - Probably the core of this program is the argument that the traditional regard for "the pump" by bodybuilders and bros alike is actually rooted in very sound science related to acute GH production, average serum and acute muscular levels of IGF-1, and the ability of lactate (feel the burn) to cleave intramuscular IGF-1 into IGF-DES, which shows 1000% of the anabolic activity of normal IGF-1 in vitro with muscle tissue. While we are not focusing on the androgen pathway, it is intimately connected to the IGF-1 pathway, and so a generally favorable hormonal state should be maintained and would complement the program (and any program) well. Additionally, intramuscular hypoxia has been shown to receruit GLUT4 receptors, which increase the effect of nutrient partitioning on a body-wide level. This is particularly of note for larger muscle groups (legs).

4. Frequency -For neural and chemical reasons, more is better. The issue is managing volume and fatigue in such a way that the maximal amount of body-chemical (Serum IGF-1) change and neural entrainment can be enacted without reaching the mythical "overtraining" point in terms of CNS fatigue, adrenal exhaustion, or muscular failure. Exercise choice is key as well.

5. Periodization - No program can maintain effectiveness indefinitely, largely because the principles of #2 result in forced adaptation. Remember that to force adaption, one must step outside their comfort zone.

Diet and supplementation principles will be covered briefly at the end of this post. They are designed to act synergistically with the enhanced frequency of the training state.

2 Kinds of workout

The basis of this program is thus: You'll have 2 kinds of workouts in a given week. This type of conjugate periodization is, of course, totally common, but this is a more radical departure than in Westside, PHAT, or BBB. Before breaking down into specifics in the template, the 2 types of days and their utilization of the principles discussed above are as follows:

Type 1: Mechanical Loading Training

These are, roughly, traditional workouts. You will want to structure 3 OR 4 of these per week, with the idea being to hit muscle groups between 1.5 and 2 times per week.
FOR EACH BODY PART, the breakdown is as follows

1. Warm up as necessary, weights under 70% 1RM, avoid constant tension for >6 seconds with any weight above 35% of max. All should be done with fast tempo.

2. Perform a single rep with 85-90% of your maximum with FAST bar speed. This activates as many muscle fibers (neural pathways!) as possible, an effect that lasts roughly 10 minutes. You absolutely cannot grind this rep out, and total time under tension including racking and unracking must be less than 6 seconds. The 6 second guideline is due to golgi tendon inhibition. You may do a double at 85% if you like, but the key is that you must max out your force production (Force = mass times acceleration!). Ideally, lifting a nice heavy load this early should leave you feeling like a beast, ready to do anything, and totally unfatigued (unlike a 1RM max effort)

3. WITHIN 5-7 MINUTES Perform roughly 6-10 reps with around your 6-8 rep max. The last rep should NOT be a grinder, though it should be difficult, you do not want to lose all bar speed and have a tremendously long tension time. This is still a heavy set, and focus should really ideally be on nailing the form and getting maximum power development, especially at the stretch/turnaround point where the eccentric becomes concentric.

4. Wait 10-15 deep breaths, and drop the weight roughly 5-10%. If you think you can get more than 4 more reps with the original weight, don't drop. Rep out this weight, still not approaching failure (each mini set should have a rep in the tank). Discontinue the set at the first sign of reps becoming "grindy" (slow bar speed).

5. Wait 10 seconds/breaths, and repeat step 4. Dropping perhaps another 5-10% of load is OK, but no more. Weights you could do for more than 12 reps (70% of 1RM) are probably not going to produce sufficient load for the goal fiber damage here. You want around 25 reps through 5 or 6 mini sets per body part performed in this fashion.

6. Once your mini sets of 3 reps have been completed, you can rest. I recommend heavy loaded stretching or exercises with a pronounced stretch and negative. The body part you've just used will no longer be used for maximum force activation, so neural (golgi tendon) inhibition at this point via stretching is ok.

7. Select a very high stretch/pump exercise, and do 3 sets of 15-20+ reps. Your focus here should be on embracing lactate burn and pushing through it. You must not bottom out or top out the movement, releasing tension. If you have Kaatsu bands, you may use them at this point, though it is not necessary. Because the failure is not mechanical or neural in these cases, you can and should push all the way to the end. The second such set should be concluded by dropping weight with a "burnout set" (a single drop in weight should be fine, as the goal here is maximum time of burn - you're trying to convert high levels of serum IGF-1 to IGF-DES in the target muscle via lactic acid.)

YOU MAY SPLIT THESE MECHANICAL HYPERTROPHY DAYS HOWEVER YOU LIKE, TRAINING INSTINCTUALLY OR AS PER RECOVERY AND LAGGING PARTS DICTATE, HOWEVER, BECAUSE FAILURE IS CAREFULLY MANAGED, MORE FREQUENT LOADINGS ARE BETTER.

Type 2: Neural and Biochemical Enhancement Training

First and foremost, this is purely supplementary - If you cut out a normal mechanical loading workout to do this "instead", you will fail. Muscles still must be trained with heavy load.

Basically, the idea here is that a quick, portable (home) workout designed to not fatigue the mechanical condition of muscles or the nervous system can still have tremendous benefits if we use our good friend science to maximize the gains from our mechanical loading training.

These workouts are ideally performed every off day, even multiple times in one day, and should not take much time or lifestyle alteration at all. I clock mine at under 20 minutes.

Enter Kaatsu Training.

Japanese researchers have found that very significant myofibrillar hypertrophy can be induced by doing frequent loading of 30% 1rm weight with high reps while the blood return is restricted with elastic bands.http://www.ergo-log.com/hypoxia.html

I cannot stress enough at this point to be careful. Venous restriction should last no longer than 5 minutes at any time. ANY sign of discomfort including numbness suggests that the restriction is too tight and training should be discontinued.

The protocol for the NBC workout:

1. Perform high set/low reps, maximum speed work with exercises you want to get stronger on.

TAKE AS MUCH CARE AS POSSIBLE TO MAKE THE FORM MATCH YOUR REAL LIFTS. Broomstick when squatting and measuring grip width on bench (perform pushups on knuckles), for instance. Again, you should be nowhere near failure, but you should be producing as much force as possible. Bodyweight (speed/jump) squats, speed pushups, and explosive pullups are good candidates here.

I'd prescribe sets of no more than 5 (even singles from the stretched positive are good for pullups) with care to nail down the form and explosive force for each exercise. Avoiding the eccentric motion of the exercise, within reason, is fine with me. Pushups, for instance, ideally should start from a dead stop. Squats, dialing in the proper level of bounce at the bottom is important.

The idea here is that you can "grease the groove" neurally , as Pavel Tsatsouline says, without having to put much actual mechanical stress on the muscle. The more times you perform a benching or squatting motion, the more ingrained those firing patterns become. Ideally for strength you'd near-max a concentric every day, as in bulgarian style training, but research shows speed work with loads around something like 35% of 1RM still have significant benefits. With these mini workouts and a strong attention to faithful-to-gym form you should be able to increase the frequency of strong neural firings for the major lifts (other than deadlift, which is helped by squatting and possibly hip thrusting) by something like 200% compared to other programs.

2. Do hypoxia/venous restricted sets on muscles you'd like to see hypertrophy. CAREFULLY. I've used ACE bandages folded over, then wrapped tightly and tucked under itself to get a blood restriction, and it seemed safe and effective. I prefer cut elastic belts, but tourniquets work as well. Remember, you're hunting the most pump (burn) possible. Generally you want to keep the occlusion under 5 minutes and shoot for ~50+ reps with a very light weight (20-35% of 1rm). I'd recommend doing this with bodyweight squats every session, because the demonstrated serum GH peak is so much higher than with arms. Larger muscle groups should be trained restricted FIRST so as to give serum GH benefit to later groups: http://www.ergo-log.com/wantbiggerbiceps.html Squats done in hypoxic conditions will also significantly affect nutrient partitioning in the body, due to GLUT4 expression.

DIET, PERIWORKOUT NUTRITION, TIMING

Diet should be roughly the same as always - I like leangains style intermittent fasting, but depending on your schedule and goals, it may or may not be for you. At least 1.5g of protein (QUALITY SOURCES - Meat and dairy only, pretty much), 18kcal per g bodyweight on a bulk, -500kcal below maintenance on a cut. Limit sweets and starches to after the gym OR mini sessions where ever possible. I favor carb toggling styles, by which I have lower carb periods and a few short carb ups a week. This maximizes the effect of endogenous insulin production. NBC days create enhanced GLUT4 expression which shuttles nutrients to muscle even in lieu of insulin spiking.

Periworkout protocol - Mechanical Loading

-90m: last carb containing meal, if not fasting. I now fast up until the workout and use a BCAA mix as preworkout. Get protein and plenty of water, and enough carbs to sustain the workout. If you're going to hyperhydrate with glycerol and sea salt, take it now.

-30m: 400mg sulbutiamine if you take it (Lurker Stim pack) I now fast up until the workout and use a BCAA mix (~15g) as preworkout.

-20m: Caffeine+1,3dmaa if you take them. 5g L-Arginine and a recommended dose of choline source (CDP-choline, DMAE, Alpha GPC etc) will enhance GH output. Any GH releasers or somatostain inhibitors (melatonin, B6, L-dopa, Huperzine A, etc) would also be taken here.

After: Standard recovery shake with protein + creatine. I sometimes use raw fenugreek to help with the creatine absorption.

DAY B (Mech)
BICEPS - (Preactivate with loaded cg Chin/pullup) looser form curls for max power/tension, spider or preacher style strict curls for burn
FOREARMS - Don't bother preactivating, reverse curls to taste. Can do the burnout with wrist flips with dbs in hand
HAMS - Preactivate on target exercise. Barbell hip thrust/SLDL for one choice, curl/GHR variant as the other. Burnout with ham curls/GHR
QUADS - Squat variants. Probably do want back squats here, but placed chronologically BEFORE hams that training day. Should be back squatting 50+% of leg days. The stretched position is key for heavy quad exercises. For the burn sets, somersault squats, walking lunges, and high (30+) rep leg extensionsl.
TRAPS - I would add shrugs on this day, just doing them all on 1 bar or smith machine or hammer strength machine. No Preactivation needed, traps are brutal to begin with so I recommend heavy power oriented shrugs. Using the rep structure outlined for mechanical days would be fine.

CALVES - No preactivation, just a heavy set and a burnout set. Calves are proven to respond well to occlusion training and if yours are lagging AND you care enough to fix it, this is a viable option on mechanical loading OR NBC training days. Conceivably you could train calves in some form every day if they're a bad weak point. I don't bother with calves on Mechanical leg days anymore.

Sample NBC Training Session

1. Light dynamic stretch/warmup
2. Neural training. These are most easily done in circuit fashion. Compresses the workout and keeps things fresh. Mine are as follows:

6 sets of 5 speed back BW squats, focused on speed out of the hole, simulating proper bar and hand position

3. Occlusion training. Use your ACE Bandages or Kaatsu bands to tie off the target body parts, close to the core.

3x sets of high rep bodyweight squats (can loosen form here). Rhythmic tempo. Feel the burn. Subsequent sets will fail much faster than the first due to continued restriction. 30+ 15+ 15+ is the bare minimum for rep requirements

3x sets of light curls while under Kaatsu venous restriction below shoulder. Rhythmic tempo. Subsequent sets will fail much faster than the first due to continued restriction. 30+15+15 is the bare minimum rep requirement.

200x calf raises while occluded.

Pushups while occluded in the arms also cause chest growth, for reasons I am unsure of. This suggest pushups and chinups could be effective under restriction as well.

SAMPLE SCHEDULE
Day 1: Mech A1
Day 2:NBC
Day 3:Mech B1
Day 4:NBC
Day 5:Mech A2
Day 6:NBC
Day 7:Mech B2
Day 8:NBC
Day J:Begin repeating.

Additional NBCs can be added for 2x in a day or on workout days as well, as long as the rules apply in terms of the periworkout protocol. I'd also keep them at least 4 hours away from mechanical workouts on either side.

DISCLAIMER
Don't be an idiot. Bloodflow restriction is serious. I haven't run this program in entirety yet, but I have experienced many of the benefits of pieces of it by adding more widowmakers and burnout sets to my own heavy lifting. Deadlift clusters, for instance, make perfect sense in light of this information regarding post tetanic activation. By managing failure, I hope this can be a more sustainable version of DC training. It's possible NBC days will interfere with normal training more than I think. We just don't know yet.

The central portion of mechanical training (rest pause without true failure) is derived from Myo-Reps and Titan Training. Traditional reverse Pyramid training or even more strength focused programs such as 1,6,1,6 or 5x5 style could theoretically be substituted for those protocols while leaving the rest of this intact. Similarly, Layne Norton's loadings for Power days on PHAT could be used in that slot.

Most lifters here would probably be best off plateauing on Starting Strength before doing ANYTHING else. As with my DC guide, this assumes you know how to train already. For newbies I in no way recommend this.

Thanks for your time, and I hope some of this makes sense. I have opted not to include more references, because they would make this totally unreadable. If you have questions about SPECIFIC reasoning, I can readily produce references or cross examples.

1. Yes, absolutely. I suspect that's about the perfect amount of volume. Obviously missing an NBC here and there isn't too bad.

2. No, it's definitely not needed, it's way too time intensive for most people to make the "gym trip" 7 days per week

3. I'd say every 3-4 weeks, but enough to keep things fresh. If you feel you're obviously stalling on something, swap it out. Very much by feel.

4. For now, I'm just assuming small loading increases in the myo-rep sets. Additionally, you should manage more force-producing (higher speed) reps from week to week. Because you're trying to live on the threshold and force adaptation, I think that gains should show up a bit more clearly than on DC, because there are generally more reps (sort of a higher training resolution).

I agree, I think there is benefit over traditional programs but I have no idea how much

EDIT: Most lifters here would probably be best off maxing out on Starting Strength before doing ANYTHING else. As with my DC guide, this assumes you know how to train already. For newbies I in no way recommend this.

I cannot imagine bodyweight squats being a problem on ANY day for anyone who is qualified to do this program in the first place. Pullups @ singles or doubles should be OK, I think, but due to mind-muscle connection being so poor in the back for most people, pullups are a sort of diffuse compound activity, lacking a lot of coordination. The explosive pullups could be dropped for anyone not caring about their pullup performance. However, since we're trying to get stronger in order to bolster the mechanical training days, you probably are sacrificing back hypertrophy as well.

Keep in mind, this is all more or less speculation at this point, but I do know that I can do 6 sets of 5 (explosive/jump) bodyweight squats literally any day regardless of training status.

OK then, what if I told you that I thought it could be ridiculously effective?

Look at the research on blood occlusion in trained athletes - rugby players added an inch+ to their thighs in 8 weeks of occlusion training, verified as true myofibrillar hypertrophy by MRI scan.

Anyone who has done deadlift clusters already knows that neural preactivation works. the second rep is much much easier than the first.

And to be honest, it isn't that complicated. If you're doing DC now, the only changes are adding ONE easy heavy rep to the warmup, slightly tweaking the RP structure (no absolute failure, more mini sets), and then adding more "widowmakers". I probably should change legs to be first on legs day though.

Adding the mini workouts is purely a way to work kaatsu in. It's not complicated, its a totally separate routine. All I'm saying here is hey, drill form on big lifts with speed in off days to get more form-reps in. Then, the occluded work produces a large GH spike and drives more chemical changes in the muscle in a system that is PROVEN to

1. build muscle (very well) and strength (worse than traditional training alone)
2. Have LESS DOMS than light weight (~30% of 1rm weight) to failure for same # of sets

And, all the mini workouts for a week are probably less than an hour of work

I would budget 6-8 weeks to do this properly, unless you added in a few of the kaatsu sessions beforehand. Not really enough chances to see the lifts get better otherwise. Even in close to fully trained athletes I wouldn't be shocked to see 15% CSA increase in the most heavily targeted muscle groups.

That's like what, 7% on diameter? That's noticeable. That wouldn't be an unreasonable departure from the literature.

This is designed as a bodybuilding/powerbuilding program. I imagine that this would be beneficial for a powerlifter a long ways out from a meet, when you have plenty of time to train for muscle density and ingrain neural firing patterns. If I were primarily interested in powerlifting, I'd probably recommend straight texas method.

I'd say learning this system is not more difficult than DC or PHAT in any meaningful way.

"Longer-term studies have shown several advantageous adaptations as a result of occlusion training. A research team looked into the effects of performing leg extensions twice weekly for two months in elite rugby players. The athletes were separated into three groups: those doing leg extensions with blood occlusion of the thighs at 50 percent of 1RM, those doing leg extensions without blood occlusion at 50 percent 1RM and a control group doing no exercise. Strength and quadriceps size improved by 14 percent and 12 percent, respectively, in the blood-occlusion group, while neither increased in the nonocclusion or control groups."

__________________
"Originally posted by ']TSS[ Dake: You guys are ridiculous, haha. Thanks though, just tryna look like a shaved ape. And the half foot of height Lurk has in me will always make my physique less impressive :tup:"

"Originally posted by WorldStrike: Drop the ego. The weights on the bar will lie to you, the mirror never will."

i have major lagging hams, so i cant wait to destroy them on lemur via SLDL and hip thrusts

__________________
"Originally posted by ']TSS[ Dake: You guys are ridiculous, haha. Thanks though, just tryna look like a shaved ape. And the half foot of height Lurk has in me will always make my physique less impressive :tup:"

"Originally posted by WorldStrike: Drop the ego. The weights on the bar will lie to you, the mirror never will."

Generally if I get more than like 6 reps in a set I will stay at the same weight and do another set. Otherwise, I'll drop.

so something like bb shoulder press for me, I would pre activate with a push press (highest peak activation, short time under tension) and then do something like (these numbers are approximations for seated, which is higher than standing for me due to rom)

215x8
195x6
185x5
185x4
155x6
155x5

five or six sets seems to be about the sweet spot. You pretty much discontinue the weight where you know you couldn't get a good workout off that weight anymore, if that makes sense. I don't know what the percentages work out to anymore

Hack squats

Preactivated at 6.5 plates/side.

7 at 6 plates
6 at 4.5 plates
10 at 3 plates

legs for the heavy stuff i really only can do maybe 3 sets if i am pushing it, I might be going too close to failure and not respecting bar speed enough, but not sure.